


You make me smile when I'm just about to cry

by Katetheduck



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Soft Husbands, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29354124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katetheduck/pseuds/Katetheduck
Summary: Freddie's perfect Valentines day present doesn't go to plan but Jim knows just how to cheer him up.
Relationships: Jim Hutton/Freddie Mercury
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	You make me smile when I'm just about to cry

"I promise you, you will love it. I used to bring my parents here all the time and the food is... Well, I'd better not spoil it for you!" I patted Jimmy's hand who flashed me a nervous smile, "Don't look so nervous, love. I doubt anything will happen, if that's what you're worried about." I reassured him and scooted over to sit right next to him. 

"It's not that... We don't usually do things like this so I'm just-I'm not used to it." He put his arm around me and I rubbed his leg as we turned the corner to go into the car park. 

"I know. I could've gone for something much more fancy but I know the food here is lovely." I smiled then looked around at the almost empty car park, "And it's a quiet place, too. I really think you'll like it."

My stomach churned as soon as I said that. I caught a glimpse of what used to be a bustling, cosy, lovely little restaurant had completely changed. The place was completely empty and I could see the couple who were in there were arguing with a member of their staff. Even the outside looked like crap, it used to have this beautiful arch above the door that had flowers carved into it but it was all overgrown with vines that were growing up the side of the building. 

I leaned forwards and tapped the driver as we came to a stop, "Sorry, um, I think you've taken us to the wrong place." I asked and he looked at his map then back at me. 

"This is the right place... there's not another restaurant around here so I'm sure this is it." He said and I thought I was going to throw up. My Valentines date was going to be ruined! 

Jim was already opening the car door so I had to suck it up and got out with him. He walked around the car to meet me and put my hand in his pocket so he could hold it without looking like we were holding hands. I led him up to the doors and held one open for him, slipping my hand out of his pocket as he walked past me, and we were immediately greeted by a very tired looking young lady with a very fake smile, "Hi, have you got a booking?"

"Yes, um, Hutton... just for us two." I smiled awkwardly as my heart sank, the place looked even worse inside than it did outside. The carpets were coated with dirt, the lovely curtains were gone and what shocked me most was the unfinished food sitting out on multiple tables, obviously where people had walked out. It seemed like this one girl was responsible for the entire restaurant, that really explained how tired she looked. 

"Okay, um, you can choose a table... it's not like we're booked out." she chuckled awkwardly, looking around at all the empty tables. 

I looked back at Jim and he looked equally as worried as me but put on a smile and led me towards a table at the back of the restaurant, pulling out my chair, "Sit down... Maybe the food is still as good as you remember, hm?" He rubbed my shoulder once I had sat down then sat in the chair across from me, "What would you suggest we get to eat?" he put his elbow on the table to lean on it but immediately pulled it back and I heard the awful peeling noise that came with it. 

"Um... I liked the chicken but," I looked around and felt my eyes start to sting with tears, "do you just want to leave? We can forget this happened and... and go somewhere else." I offered but Jim shook his head, putting his hand up to wave over the young woman. 

"It's alright, relax," He said then put on a smile for the young woman we had just talked to, "I'm really sorry, could you wipe our table? It's a bit sticky, um... sorry." I could tell he was really trying not to be rude and it seemed she was appreciative. 

Her face flushed red as she quickly grabbed cleaning spray and a towel, wiping down our table as best she could, "I'm so sorry about this." She chuckled awkwardly and I nervously looked at Jim then up at her. 

"Thank you.” Jim smiled as she walked away then put his arm back on the table, testing it to check if it was still sticky and thankfully it wasn’t. We talked for a while until the woman came back with two menus that she handed to us and I immediately recognised the chicken that Mum and I used to have when we came here. 

”Can we have two of the chicken? Please?” I looked at Jim over the top of my menu and he nodded, closing his own as the waitress stared at the two of us. 

”Okay... um, two of the chickens. That was very quick.” She chuckled and took our menus, “Would you like a drink? We have red wine?” 

I looked over at Jim and he nodded, “Red wine would be nice, thank you.” 

The next time she came back, she had both our meals and the wine and my heart sank even further. My chicken was so sloppily presented, completely unlike what I’d ever seen before, but it looked at least edible. Jim cut into his and went to try a bite but stopped, staring at the bit of chicken on his fork, “Is it supposed to be pink?” 

“It’s pink?” I whispered and he nodded, turning the fork to show me that the inside of his chicken was completely raw, “Don’t eat that. Seriously, you could get tapeworm or something”

“You can’t get tapeworm from chicken, love. But I wouldn’t eat it anyway... how about the wine?” He pulled the open bottle towards him and poured us a taster each, sliding my glass across the table to me. 

“Happy Valentines, Jimmy” I clinked my glass against his then took a sip of the wine. It tasted like acid and my first reaction was to spit it back into the glass as quick as I could. Jim managed to swallow it but started gagging when he accidentally smelled it. 

He rushed off to the toilets and the waitress came over to the table, “Is everything alright?” 

I looked at our table then up at her and let out a small sigh, “Look, we came here for our Valentines dinner and we’re probably going to leave here with food poisoning. The chicken, completely raw, the wine is gone off and now my husband’s probably throwing up because he drank it.” I explained and her face turned bright red as she collected the plates and glasses, apologising profusely, “I know it’s not your fault... could you just get us the bill?” 

“Don’t worry about the bill, sir. I assume this really isn’t what you expected so I wouldn’t expect you to pay.” She said and took everything back to the kitchen. I quickly got up and rushed to the toilets, knocking on the door until it opened. 

Jim looked surprisingly well considering what he’d just drank, “Ready to go?” I asked and he hummed, putting his hands in his pockets and walking towards the door, “Go on, I’ll be out in a second.” 

He gave me a thumbs-up and wandered out as I found the waitress at another table and gently tapped her shoulder. I didn’t quite know what to say so I got out my wallet and handed her thirty pounds, “That’s yours. I just- I think you deserve this.” 

She looked incredibly shocked and stuttered to find the right words to say, ending up going with “Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure. Spend it on something nice.” I smiled and quickly shook her hand as she put the money in her pocket then rushed off to meet back up with Jim. 

I got into the car and Jim reached out to hold my hand but I turned away from him, feeling the tears starting to creep back into my eyes and holding in a sob. "Not now." I squeaked and that alone set the tears off running down my cheeks. 

The drive felt so much longer than anything I'd ever experienced but as soon as we pulled up to the Garden Lodge, I jumped out of the car and almost ran inside. I passed Phoebe who tried to grab me and shut myself in the bedroom to crawl in bed, almost kicking Delilah and Goliath off. 

I let everything out and sobbed into the duvet, trying to stay as quiet as I could to not let Jim know that I was crying. Once I'd let everything out and it started to hurt to cry, I sat up and picked Goliath up, snuggling him close to me and kissing his head as a way to stop my crying. "I can't believe I ruined it all... If he leaves me, at least I'll have you." I squeaked but started sobbing again when he started purring against my chest. 

"Freddie? Are you crying?" Jim's voice came from outside and I scrambled to stop my crying and wipe my face, "I can hear you moving about in there. Are you alright?" 

I quickly cleared my throat and tried to make my voice as normal as possible, "I'm fine, are you?" I tried but my voice cracked horrendously and I could hear him sigh behind the door. 

"Come out, please... I've got something for you." He said so I quickly washed my face and dried it to try and hide that I'd been crying before I went to the door and opened it. Jim was stood there, in a very cute pair of plaid pyjamas, with his hands behind his back. 

"What is it?" I tried looking behind him so he dropped his hands and brought a small bunch of flowers and a set of pyjamas that matched his. I was frozen in shock and just stared at him, trying my hardest to push the tears back but they just flowed out. "I'm sorry! I didn't get you anything and I ruined our meal and-" 

"No, you didn't. That wasn't your fault, you didn't know how it would be." He walked past me and put the presents on the bed to free up his arms to hug me. "It's not your fault... I was thinking more a movie and chocolates, anyway, if you'd like" He pulled back a little to look at me and I suddenly realised. 

That's why the pyjamas... did he already have it ready?

"Is that my surprise?" I asked and he nodded, wiping my cheeks with his thumbs, "Oh, love! I love you!" I sobbed into his chest as he chuckled, rubbing my back. 

"I love you too. Do you want to watch the film with me? I promise it won't be a sad one, can't have you crying any more." He said and I hummed, wiping my eyes in my sleeve and smiling when Jim pressed a kiss to my forehead, "Go on then, these pyjamas are really comfortable!"

He was right. The pyjamas were so warm and fluffy and when we got downstairs, Jimmy had gotten me a huge box of chocolates and put the flowers in the vase which I realised were ones that had been picked from our garden and beautifully arranged. We were both snuggled under one big blanket and some of our babies joined us throughout the film but it was one of the most romantic nights I had ever had. Even though Jim fell asleep halfway through, it was cute. 


End file.
